Chapter 156: Yuwen Wudi? Too Ugly, Hard Pass!

Do you even hear yourself when you speak?

Hearing this, Shan Wanjing's pretty face instantly puffed up into a steamed bun. "You're the evil dog! I'm going to bite you to death!"

Zheng Jian chuckled. "Aha, I was just joking with you. Look, don't you feel much more energetic now?"

Shan Wanjing thought about it for a moment and nodded. It was indeed true.

The young girl had a lot on her mind and immediately asked again, "Then let me ask you, if you wake up one day and find out that I've actually been kidnapped, what would you do?"

Zheng Jian pondered for a moment and said, "What else could I do? Keep sleeping, of course."

Shan Wanjing: "…You wouldn't even want to save me? You'd just keep sleeping?"

Resentment points from Shan Wanjing +999.

Zheng Jian said with an innocent expression, "It's not that I don't want to save you, but first of all, I need to know where you've been kidnapped to, right? Besides, what if I'm dreaming? If I go back to sleep for a bit, maybe you'll be fine by the time I wake up in the dream."

Thinking about it, Shan Wanjing felt that somehow made a little sense, but she wasn't someone who would give up so easily. She asked again, "Then what if the kidnappers contact you and demand a ransom of one hundred thousand taels of gold? What will you do?"

Zheng Jian was taken aback. "One hundred thousand taels, and in gold? That much? Can't it be less?"

Shan Wanjing pouted (○｀ 3′○) and said, "It has to be one hundred thousand taels of gold, not a single tael less!"

Inwardly, she shouted, "If you can't afford it, just go find my mom! My mom will definitely pay!"

Zheng Jian pondered for a moment, appearing to hesitate. Seeing this, Shan Wanjing inexplicably felt a little nervous.

"Uh, actually, it doesn't need to be one hundred thousand taels. Fifty thousand taels will do. If I take too much, I feel like my conscience won't be at ease," Zheng Jian said righteously.

Thud!

A critical hit!

Shan Wanjing's little head was buzzing. "Could it be that there's something wrong with how I'm expressing myself?"

Resentment points from Shan Wanjing +1999.

"What kind of nonsense are you spouting? I'm asking what you'll do if the kidnappers ask you for it! Are you going to pay or not?" Shan Wanjing grabbed Zheng Jian and pinched him hard, like an enraged little tigress.

"Not pay! Are they dreaming too?" Zheng Jian winced and bared his teeth.

"Besides, with me around, how could anyone possibly kidnap you? Don't worry! Hiss... go easy on the pinching!"

"Now that's something a human would say!" Seeing this, Shan Wanjing finally relaxed her grip on her little hands.

……

During the time Zheng Jian and Shan Wanjing were traveling together, nearly another month passed.

On this day, the two arrived at an inn—ah, yet another Yue Lai chain establishment.

While eating, they listened to the latest news from the martial arts world. Some people were still discussing the events of that day at the Wang family estate involving Shi Qingxuan, Ba Fenghhan, and Zheng Jian, while others were talking about different matters.

"Ahem, have you heard? The Wagang rebel army originally wanted to attack the Eastern Capital Luoyang, but somehow the news leaked," someone mentioned the grand trends of the realm.

"What you're talking about is old news. Xingyang has already fallen into the hands of the Wagang army. And that Xue Ju, who proclaims himself the Overlord of Western Qin, has captured Tianshui and I heard he even wants to establish a capital and declare himself emperor."

Listening to this, Zheng Jian frowned slightly. Although he was not well-versed in military affairs, he at least knew that Xingyang was a crucial grain-storage stronghold. "Li Mi, with Shen Luoyan assisting him, has taken Xingyang... The Great Sui is tottering on the brink..."

Listening further, Zheng Jian gained a general understanding of the current state of the world.

Li Mi of the Wagang army had laid an ambush and personally killed the Sui general Zhang Suituo, his reputation even overshadowing that of Wagang leader Zhai Rang, and he was now plotting to seize the Xingluo Granary.

The Xingluo Granary was the most vital grain storehouse of the Great Sui. To ensure it was not lost, Emperor Yang dispatched Liu Wengong to lead a large army eastward from Luoyang, and also sent Pei Renji from Hulao to attack Wagang's flank.

"Patron, someone wants to commandeer your horses!" At that moment, the inn's waiter hurried over and said anxiously to Zheng Jian and Shan Wanjing.

Zheng Jian was stunned, then found it amusing. "This tyranny has actually reached my doorstep. Talk about a dung beetle pushing a millstone—overestimating one's own capability."

With that, Zheng Jian and Shan Wanjing went to the backyard stable and saw a dozen soldiers pulling their horses along with a dozen other horses.

Zheng Jian blocked the soldiers' path. "Who gave you the gall to snatch our horses?"

Seeing that both Zheng Jian and Shan Wanjing were dressed as martial artists, the dozen or so government soldiers instantly lost their nerve, dared not say another word, dropped the horses, and fled.

Seeing this, Zheng Jian couldn't be bothered to argue with these people and walked away with Shan Wanjing, leading their horses.

Just as the two reached the city gates, a group of people blocked their way.

The leader was dressed in yellow, with unkempt hair, an extremely majestic build, thick eyebrows, and large eyes. He had a tumor right between his brow and forehead, making him look fierce and terrifying, and his hands in particular were much larger than an ordinary person's.

"Are these the two?" this man asked in a voice like a booming bell.

Behind him, several government soldiers pointed at Zheng Jian and Shan Wanjing. "It's them! They defied the imperial court's orders!" They were precisely the soldiers who had come to commandeer the horses earlier.

Looking at this ugly fellow, Zheng Jian pondered and said, "Tell me, with a face like yours where all five facial features seem to be rebelling against each other, refusing to submit to one another, when put together they somehow manage to both ward off evil spirits and refresh the mind. I know you like to bite people, but you can't just go around biting randomly. Are you trying your absolute best to make sure everyone doesn't realize you're a dog?"

Raging flames instantly surged in the ugly man's eyes. What he hated most in this world was people bringing up his appearance!

Resentment points from Yuwen Wudi +999.

"Do you know who you're talking to?" Yuwen Wudi clenched his fists tightly.

Zheng Jian sneered. He had been wondering who this uniquely ugly person was, and it turned out to be Yuwen Wudi of the Yuwen Clan?

"I'm truly sorry, I shouldn't be talking to a dog..."

Resentment points from Yuwen Wudi +999.

Yuwen Wudi instantly flew into a rage. Reaching behind him to grab his long spear, he lunged at Zheng Jian with monstrous murderous intent. His spear blossomed, transforming into myriad spear shadows, with a momentum as unstoppable as a surging great river.

Zheng Jian glanced at him contemptuously. "Are you playing the dung beetle crawling onto a dung heap—courting death?"

He stood his own ground without moving, and the Tear Stain Sword, still inside its scabbard, thrust forward unceremoniously.

"Trying to go head-to-head with me, Yuwen Wudi?" A smile also appeared on Yuwen Wudi's face.

The Tear Stain Sword and the long spear crashed violently together. Amidst the clashing forces, Yuwen Wudi's expression froze on his face. He could only feel a terrifying force, like a thousand crashing tidal waves, surging from the opponent's sword!

Caught completely off guard, Yuwen Wudi was blasted flying backwards more than ten paces by Zheng Jian, slamming heavily into the city wall and cracking the bricks.

Ah, being a bluestone brick isn't easy either; it cracks whenever it's told to...

"Pfft..."

Yuwen Wudi spat out a mouthful of blood, staring in shock at the still nonchalant Zheng Jian, unable to utter a word.

He was one of the top experts of the Yuwen Clan, yet he had been defeated in a single move by the person before him. This made Yuwen Wudi feel as though he were dreaming.

"You... you dare provoke our Yuwen Clan! You... you're dead!" Yuwen Wudi roared, gasping for breath.

Zheng Jian scratched his head. "Uh, wasn't it you who came to provoke me?"

Yuwen Wudi choked. That was indeed how it went...

Zheng Jian couldn't be bothered to deal with this ugly wretch. With both low appearance and low IQ, talking too much with this fellow might drag down his own intelligence!

Without even looking at Yuwen Wudi, he walked out of the city gates with Shan Wanjing. By now, those government soldiers were shaking in their boots and dared not block them anymore, hastily clearing a path to let the two ride away on their horses.

……

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(End of this chapter)